The Village of Glenview and Glenview Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to develop and coordinate a range of new events and services aimed at promoting, entertaining and enhancing the community. Among the possibilities for 2020: a Village-wide dining event; a multi-generational Valentine’s celebration; a “Story behind the Storefront” series about local businesses; and videos aimed at cultivating and supporting the business community.
“For many years, the Village has supported a number of Chamber-sponsored traditions in Glenview,” observed Karen Patterson, Chamber past president, who helped shape the agreement before stepping down in January 2020 (the current president is Chris Falcon). “We’ve worked together on Summer Fest, which has been running for more than 45 years, and Holiday in the Park & Parade, which is 25 years old, along with our newest event Blocktoberfest. While the Village and Chamber have a long history of working together, this agreement brings new opportunities to bring the community and local businesses together — the possibilities are so exciting.”
Plans for the two new events are not yet finalized, “but expect fun and family engagement,” Patterson added. At least one of the new annual community events will take place outside the downtown business district.
The Economic Development and Business Support Services Agreement was approved by the Village Board of Trustees February 18. It calls for the Village and Chamber to coordinate efforts toward the shared goal of enhancing the Village’s economic stability.
Also as part of the agreement, the Chamber will develop a database of local businesses. Data, such as building and lot square footage, products and services offered and parking information, will help the Village in its economic development planning. “This new data stream will give us information to understand trends and focus on the Village’s business retention and recruitment efforts,” Village President Jim Patterson said.
A final piece of the new collaboration is developing a series of business-enhancing webinars and videos that will inspire and inform new and existing business owners. These programs will be available to all business owners in Glenview.
“Our aim is to leverage the strengths of each organization to enrich the residential and commercial experience in Glenview,” Betsy Baer, the Chamber’s Executive Director, said. “This is fresh thinking from two organizations with more than 200 years combined experience making Glenview a vibrant, growing community.”
